


Rescue Me

by disdainfreely



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: But They Love Their Brothers, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Wolfpack is Scary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-24
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:35:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22384186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/disdainfreely/pseuds/disdainfreely
Summary: The 212th is pinned down and Commander Cody and General Kenobi are starting to contemplate the very real possibility that they're going to die here.Wolfpack loves their brothers and isn't about to let that happen.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 278





	Rescue Me

“Any changes?” 

“Nothing yet.” Cody steps back to let General Kenobi take his place peering out of the small fortification they’ve managed to hold thus far. “We’re dug in pretty deep, but we’re running low on everything.”

“Patch just informed me he’s used up the last of the bacta.” General Kenobi’s lips are pressed into a thin line and Cody can see the stress lines forming on his forehead and around his eyes. “He said some of the wounded need more or we’ll start losing them.”

“Wooley?” Cody looks over at his General and is less than relieved at the expression he gets in response. 

“Stable for the moment. Patch is doing what he can, but he needs more bacta and more blood. And before you offer, no, you cannot donate. I need you at your best.” General Kenobi rests a hand on Cody’s shoulder. “We’re running too low on men to have anyone else down.” 

Cody wants to object, but he can’t exactly say that his General is wrong. The Separatist-supported partisans on this planet are pushing back far more than expected, and the 212th is running out of options. Communications cut off, supplies running low, big stationary guns and tanks long lost, and nowhere left to run. All the men are running on the last of their stims. Weeks of constant combat without reinforcements will do that to a battalion. 

“Incoming!” 

Cody looks up just in time to grab his General and shove to him to the floor, covering his body with his own heavily armored frame as the blasts start again. He hears General Kenobi curse in Huttese beneath him, something filthy and unrepeatable, and doesn’t let him up until the rumbling has stopped. 

“I’m starting to think they might not want us here,” General Kenobi says breathlessly as Cody helps pull him to his feet. “Let’s hope we get a moment before they start that again.”

Cody just shakes his head and calls down to Boil, who first sounded the alert. “Any new wounded?”

“We’re checking! Shields holding steady for now!” Boil calls back.

“Make it quick! Before they try again!”

“Yessir!”

Cody watches Boil go for a moment before turning to resume his watch over the contested land. Fucking mountains with all their crevices and nooks, impossible to fully monitor with their number of men fit to fight and perfectly known by the locals. He pushes away the thought that they might actually die here. It’s always a possibility that he might die. He knows this. He’s a clone. 

“Incoming!” 

This time it’s Cody’s turn to get shoved down as General Kenobi pins him with his weight and what must be the Force. Cody curses. He’s supposed to be the one protecting his General.

The first bombardment must have been only a test because this one doesn’t stop. A panicked shout has Cody shoving hard enough that either he manages to startle his General or overpower him because suddenly Cody is staggering to his feet, head coming up to see what’s going on.

“Shields are failing, Commander!” Waxer is running toward him and the General. His bucket is on, but Cody can feel his growing fear.

“Get everyone behind cover. Make sure Patch and the wounded are as far in as we can get,” Cody orders. They’re clones, and that means they go down fighting.

“Let me try to talk to them,” General Kenobi says, eyes getting that familiar pinch at the corners that tugs at Cody’s heartstrings. 

“You can’t. You’ve already used your Negotiator tack here. They won’t believe you a second time.” Cody doesn’t flinch as another barrage makes the shield overhead ripple and start to flicker.

“I could actually surrender.” Both Cody and Waxer freeze, staring at their General, but he forges on. “We could actually surrender. I could negotiate treatment for our wounded. I know it’s less than ideal, but I’m not sure what other options we have right now.”

“Waxer, go make sure the medics have whatever they need,” Cody says. 

“Yessir,” Waxer says, and flees with more speed than is probably necessary even given the situation.

“Cody, I know you don’t like it, but we’re running out of options here,” General Kenobi says. He ducks his head instinctively at the next barrage and Cody grabs him and pulls him toward cover. If the shields give out, he at least wants them to have time to finish their conversation. 

“It’s not that I don’t like it, but I have a feeling they aren’t going to let us surrender,” Cody says, pulling his General down beside him. When he looks over, he sees Longshot on their other side, sniper rifle pressed against his shoulder and peering down the scope. “See anything?”

“I’m trying to track where they’re coming from, but not having much luck. Fucking cliffs,” Longshot mutters.

“Keep it up,” Cody says, clapping him on the shoulder and turning back to General Kenobi, who’s looking down like he can see whatever Longshot is looking at. Hells, he’s a Jedi. Maybe he can.

“Sir, the techs just reported in. The shields can’t take another barrage like that. They’ll overheat and give out.” Boil crouches down beside Cody. “What now?”

Cody looks out over the cliffs. “I think our only option is to take the fight out to them.”

“If there’s no surrender, that’s our option.” General Kenobi strokes his beard thoughtfully. “How many men are able?”

“Last casualty count had us at less than a third still able to fight. Probably around two hundred.” Cody closes his eyes for a moment inside his bucket. “I can see how many Patch thinks can be put back on their feet.”

General Kenobi’s face crumples in sympathy and grief. “Please do so.”

Cody looks to Boil, who nods and slips away. He turns back to General Kenobi. “I’m sorry, sir.”

“Sorry? For what?” General Kenobi looks at him in honest confusion.

“We failed you.”

“Oh, Cody. You’ve done no such thing.” General Kenobi smiles a little sadly. “I’m sorry it looks like I might not be getting you out of here. I did so want to show you some planets that weren’t being devastated by war.”

Cody isn’t sure what to say to that and so settles for saying nothing.

General Kenobi glances over. “Have a little hope, Cody. I can’t believe the Force is done with us quite yet.”

Cody is about to open his mouth to answer when his comm crackles to life. He looks down at it. “Radar, this had better be good.”

“Sir, we’ve got an incoming transmission.” Radar sounds positively gleeful, which is rare for him. General Kenobi leans over to join in.

“Incoming transmission? But our signals have all been jammed.”

A rumbling explosion in the distance shakes the ground and Radar outright cackles. “Not anymore, sir. Someone likes us a whole lot. Patching them through to you.”

“Master Kenobi, I heard you might be having some trouble.” General Plo Koon’s voice comes through loud and clear, followed shortly thereafter by the image of the General looking up at them both, and Cody’s knees go weak. “Hold tight.”

“Good to hear from you, Master Plo. We were about to run out of ideas,” General Kenobi says with a laugh.

“We’ll see you very soon,” General Koon promises. He looks around and Cody realizes that he’s on a LAAT/i with some of the 104th. “Good hunting.” The line cuts out.

It’s only a moment later that a low, distant sound begins to echo around them. General Kenobi looks unnerved. 

“What is that?”

Cody can’t help himself. He laughs, almost hysterical with relief. “That is Wolfpack. They’re on the hunt.”

“On the--” General Kenobi goes quiet at the sound rises and falls again and he clearly recognizes it for what it is.

The sound of almost seven-hundred men howling in unison.

Beside them, Longshot perks up. “Commander, is that--”

“Hear that, boys?” Cody calls. He sees heads come up, sees the men freeze as they listen, and can practically feel the growing excitement. “Let ‘em know we’re here!”

When the next howl rolls through from Wolfpack, the 212th echoes a ragged response. It’s quieter, not as practiced, and with so many of the men down it can’t be as loud, but it only gets louder as Wolfpack responds. Cody looks over, throat raw, to see General Kenobi watching them in...awe? 

The howls continue, but then the screams begin. Droid, organic, Cody can’t quite tell, and honestly at this point he doesn’t really care. The voices that are screaming now have kept him and his brothers and his General pinned down for weeks. He’s watched brother after brother slip away under Patch’s hands while he cursed and pleaded. It’s hard to conjure up any sympathy as the howls continue and the screams start to fade. 

The howling approaches and doesn’t taper off until Cody can start to see the familiar grey and white forms coming up over the nearest ridge. Well. Mostly grey and white. Cody can see the green splatter of partisan blood. Wolffe is leading the Pack, as usual, with General Plo at his side.

It’s only with a great effort that Cody doesn’t run to meet Wolffe, though it’s only a few moments until Wolffe’s ground-eating lope has them chest to chest. Cody’s hand immediately comes up to cup the back of Wolffe’s helmet and pull him close enough to press their foreheads together.

“Don’t worry, vod. We took care of them,” Wolffe assures him in a tone that’s almost a growl. “Every single one. We’ve got boys clearing out the rest of the trash.”

Cody could lay down on the ground right here and sleep for a week. Wolffe can obviously tell, based on the arm suddenly around his waist. 

“I knew we were coming home as soon as I heard you,” Cody says, leaning into the strength his brother is offering. He looks around to see Generals Kenobi and Koon in deep discussion about logistics and he should probably be there for that, but Wolffe is still holding him up.

“Don’t worry. Pack’s got you.” Wolffe nudges their foreheads together again and Cody can’t even object to the green blood being smeared onto his own armor. It’s not like it won’t need a good thorough cleaning regardless. “We’ll get you loaded out.”

“I know.” Cody lets Wolffe take his weight. “Knew the Pack would pull through.”

He can hear General Kenobi coming over to fuss, obviously having realized what’s going on, but honestly? Honestly, he’s going to fall asleep standing up right here no matter what he does, and Wolffe has him, so Cody can just let it happen.

He sleeps and dreams of howling wolves with glowing eyes and knows that he’s safe.


End file.
